Improving Literacy Skills with Fun-Learning Through the EduGame Plunder!

Educators will be rewarded as a live game demonstration and a discussion of the pedagogical value of games in education will be provided. Plunder! is a series of mini-games contained within a meta-game world. Play modes range from navigating a ship in open seas or moving a character avatar around a 3-D world to game specific mechanics such as shooting a cannon or manipulating letters and words within a puzzle. Game play segments require roughly 10-15 minutes of participation to complete. Literacy lessons include help text. Player feedback includes visual and sound effects, scores, avatar alteration, meta-game elements (e.g. experience points or badges), and progress tracking. Both educational and game oriented content will be defined, tracked, and rewarded to the student. This will be explained to the participants during the demonstration. Situations, settings, play mechanics and all other content is intended to please the user in unexpected ways and keep them engaged. Students become excited about playing this literacy improvement game via the interjection of appropriate mirth into the design and execution of the game design. Come along maties and join us at this session as we sail the scholastic seas. Discover how Plunder! can facilitate in increasing your student's literacy skills and enhance your instructional effectiveness.